Book Reviews

The Code for Love and Heartbreak, by Jillian Cantor

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'The Code For Love And Heartbreak' Isn't 'Emma' — But It Is Charming

10:00am October 10, 2020

by Alethea Kontis

Jillian Cantor's new YA novel lifts some of the elements of Jane Austen's classic — like character names — wholesale. But you'll enjoy it more if you don't expect the plot to follow exactly.

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Phil Klay's New 'Missionaries' Is An Ambitious Novel Of Ideas

10:00am October 08, 2020

by Lily Meyer

Klay won acclaim for his debut story collection Redeployment, about the experiences of soldiers. His long awaited novel looks at how America has developed and exported the idea of a war on terror.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab

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'Addie LaRue' Is Invisible — But Memorable

7:00am October 08, 2020

by Caitlyn Paxson

Addie LaRue was born in France 400 years ago — but nobody remembers that. She made a supernatural deal for immortality at the cost of permanent anonymity, so she tries to leave a mark however she can.

Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens, by Desmond Meade

'Let My People Vote' Tells Of One Man's Journey To Getting 1.4 Million Back A Voice

8:34am October 07, 2020

by Martha Anne Toll

Desmond Meade rose from addiction, homelessness, and prison to run a campaign to re-enfranchise more than one million Florida voters; it's a tale of hope, persistence, and the power of organizing.

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An Outsider Is Drawn Into The Quest To Find A Missing Teen In 'The Searcher'

1:31pm October 06, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

Tana French's crime novel is a slow burn of a suspense story. It lulls readers into basking in the rough beauty of Western Ireland — before unspooling enough secrets and sins to fill an entire bog.

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Former CIA Director John Brennan testifies on Capitol Hill in May 2017 before the House Intelligence Committee Russia Investigation Task Force.

After Chasing Threats Abroad, Former CIA Chief John Brennan Says The Risk Is At Home

2:01pm October 05, 2020

by Greg Myre

The former spy chief has dealt with almost all of the country's major security challenges over the past two decades. In his memoir, Undaunted, he directs his ire at President Trump.

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It's Not Quite Dark Enough In 'The Midnight Library'

7:00am October 03, 2020

by Jason Sheehan

Critic Jason Sheehan says the new novel from Matt Haig — about a mystical library that lets people sample all the ways their lives might have gone — is a little too gentle and straightforward.

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In 'Jack,' Marilynne Robinson Shows Grace Is For Everyone

7:00am October 01, 2020

by Lily Meyer

Robinson's latest Gilead novel centers on prodigal son Jack, newly released from prison and in love with a Black woman — a crime in 1950s Missouri. But it's not a pat tale of love overcoming racism.

His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life, by Jonathan Alter

'His Very Best' Calls Jimmy Carter 'Perhaps The Most Misunderstood President'

3:48pm September 29, 2020

by Michael Schaub

Jonathan Alter tells Carter's life story beautifully and with admirable fairness — while it's evident that he admires Carter, he treats the former president as a real person, as flawed as anyone else.

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Arts

'Leave The World Behind' Is A Signature Novel For This Blasted Year

1:27pm September 29, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

A family on vacation opens the door of their remote Airbnb rental one night to an older couple who claims to be the home's owners. Rumaan Alam's thrilling novel is about race, class and self-delusion.

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